My Partner's Heart
by DebateShortie
Summary: Ziva never thought much about his heart until it stopped. NO character death. Rated T for safety, mention of poison and adult activity. One shot complete ...Updated


Ziva paced frantically in front of Tony's room; she was furious that her partner had been poisoned, almost died. Technically did...she tried to rid her mind of the image of him lying there, not breathing and without a pulse...

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It had been an unusual case from the get go. Navy men had been found dead for no apparent reason. Ducky had insisted that it was murder and poisoning was involved. No one argued with him. Abby would finally find out the poision (in Tony's blood, after the killer tried to add him to the dead men at her feet). Jenny immediately knew that they were dealing with a femme fatale; a woman who killed for revenge or pleasure. Ducky had agreed; few men used poision as a means of murder. And they traced all the men to the strip club that they had all been found within ten miles of. The only conclusion was that a dancer was slipping a delayed action poison in the blood.

So Jenny decided that the only way to figure it out would be to send in an undercover agent. Tony, the playboy of the group, was the obvious choice with Ziva as backup and surveillance. Tony knew that Ziva had his back and made a mental note to not make her jealous or offend her with the activity he took part in. He also made a mental note to tell her that he loved her after this mess.

After a few hours, Jeanne appeared. An arms dealer's daughter at a club where Naval officers had been introduced to their demise? When Ziva saw her, she tipped Tony off. The pieces began to fall in place for both agents. Jeanne was headed his way and Ziva knew the woman had a grudge against him. Ziva knew what had happened and how she broke his heart. Ziva feared that that grudge was the reason for all of the deaths, so she would have a chance to get to Tony.

Tony actually followed his partner's advice. He headed out the nearest door, unaware that Jeanne was following him. Ziva got out of the van hiding her and headed around to her partner's aid. Ziva had a, to quote Abby, a hinky feeling. She hoped that she was wrong. But if she wasn't, not only did they identify the killer, but that could spell trouble for Tony.

As Tony headed through the lot towards Ziva, Jeanne ran up behind him, grabbed his arm. As he tried to turn to get away, she took out a syringe from her pocket and thrust it into Tony's chest, directly into his heart. He could feel his chest seize up and knew that his instinct was right, Jeanne was indeed the killer. He hit the ground, losing consciousness. Ziva didn't think; she took out her gun and shot Jeanne twice, killing her, before dropping to her knees by Tony. She pressed her fingers against his neck, trying to find a pulse. Frantically, she pressed her ear to his still chest. Nothing. His heart was not beating.

She went into overdrive, immediately beginning CPR to save him. She hoped that the shots she fired were heard by one of the team members. She pressed her lips to his and began breathing for him, pressing against his chest to force the blood through his body. Hebrew prayers, long frogotten, circled in her head as she willed her partner's heart to beat again. The tears welled from her eyes. Why hadn't she told him? Was it too late?

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Potassium cyanide. A dead French arms dealer's daughter. Tony lying in a hospital bed, alive but unresponsive. Ziva walked over to Tony's bed and watched the monitor record the slowly steadying beats of his heart. There she saw that everything was fine. He was fine. She pressed her lips to her partner's chest, over his heart. She replaced her lips with her palm, feeling the beat under her hand. She turned to update the rest of the team.

"I love you." So she said it. No one heard. It was still true. She needed to tell him, wasn't going to risk losing him again. He meant too much to not know how she felt, even if he didn't feel the same way.

"Zee..you...saved my...life...I...love...you...too," the ten little words gasped from his lips. She turned back to him. He looked at her and tried to smile. He was still a long way to complete recovery; the potassium cyanide had not damaged his heart, but affected his lungs. She hadn't known that he had gotten the plague eight years before until this happened. He would live, and the damage would be reversible. She smiled before kissing his lips.

"Sleep, Tony. There will be time to talk later." Now to update the team and hope Gibbs can't read her mind. She turned to see him standing there in the doorway.

"How much did you see..." She looked at the floor nervously and slightly embarrassed.

"Most of it." Her boss's face didn't give anything away.

"YOu'll have my resignation in the morning Gibbs. Tony needs to stay. He's better than me."

"Ziva...I'm not asking you to resign. YOu both can stay."

"Thanks Gibbs." _Now they both have a chance at happiness_, he thought.


End file.
